Hi all,
I start my first driving job this coming Monday (wish me luck). I went for an induction yesterday, and was shown around. I was told that we get given a list of deliveries, then look addresses to work out what order to load up. Then you tell the forklift operator where you want the pallet loading. Once loaded you go on your way. Is this the same for most small transport firms? Do any of you do it like this? I’m sure it will be easy when I get into it, but it is a bit daunting at the mo.
Many thanks
NB
Any new job with several or multi drops can seem a bit heavy at first, this will never change as long as people change jobs, it’ll seem daunting at first but a few days in to learn the drops/times/routes/drop facilities and most especially the receiving hours and cooperation or otherwise of the delivery points will see the job getting easier.
You’ll get it all wrong a few times, learn from it…if there are some approachable non clever dicky experienced drivers there ask them to help you put your drops in order…after a few weeks you’ll probably do it completely differently to them.
Much better to have some input where and what order you want the load.
if your drops are the same all the time, then I imagine the loaders will have a good idea of how its been loaded before.
If you get a set of regular drops, you lucky bar stool. But I bet it’ll be nightfright style “oh I didn’t realise it’d come on a pallet” after they order 50 packs of paper to their tiny, all double yellowed house/office address. Argh!
Are you in a proper truck? Or a rigid? (Or a puddle jumper?) I can’t speak about proper truck work, but I’ll go out on a limb and say it’ll be better than driving puddle jumpers.
Get paid for your induction .they want 3 questions answered .have you got a sleeping bag .is health and safety overrated would you drivet a trailer with a sixty percent loss in brake effect.if the answers yes to all three the country is your oyster .make me a cuppa .polish yr boots I’ll see you at 4 am .self employed so if u have an accident you will rue the day you said yes sir three bags fullcsir. Have a nice day.and smile
If a pallet can fall over…it will 
Tall stuff to the front,low stuff at the back,regardless of your running order (t&c’s apply 
)
Thanks for the advice so far guys. So it’s good that I get a say in loading order? Not normal?
htmldude:
Are you in a proper truck? Or a rigid? (Or a puddle jumper?) I can’t speak about proper truck work, but I’ll go out on a limb and say it’ll be better than driving puddle jumpers.
Im going to have 2 weeks on Cat C, then moving (permanently) onto C+E. As a new driver, they want to start me small-ish and work up. I’m just glad somebody has FINALLY taken me on.
NB
At our place the Transport Manager decides which way round it gets loaded / delivered but I’ve changed the order many times, not because he does it wrong but sometimes I may be too early for a drop so nip and do another one instead. It’s all loaded for me the night before and I simply strap it all up in the morning and off I go. It’s my first Cat C job and I bloody love it, good luck 
I used to go through all my paperwork after the the despatcher handed it through but before the forkies got hold of it.
This was the done thing TBH, we knew every square inch of our delivery areas and saved so much grief later on. We even decided which side of the truck it had to be loaded on depending on the customers yard layout.
Then there was the dreaded privates or domestics not forgetting printed matter for takeaways etc and offices on the third floor 
Pallets - I really don’t miss it 
I did a bit of palletline work on agency And the best advice I can give you is to be wary of how the forkie loads your lorry, back when I was new to the job, I was given my paperwork and my keys and my lorry was already loaded. Anyway, the ■■■■■ on the forkie decided to load 4 mini pallets of copper and metal coil on the headboard and the rest in the back, just because the metal was last to come off. The run to the first drop was painful because I had the front wheels rubbing on the wheel arches all the way there and fortunately the forkie at my first drop moved the metal to the back.
So just be careful as occasionally, the forkie will be a drone and load your lorry in order of what is coming off first and pay no attention to weight distribution. Like I said, I was new to the job and just got on with it. You live and learn!
That is how we did it at securicor omega. I was given a manifest and I had to work out the order that I would deliver. It gets easier when you have done your region and know the customers (set times etc) but not so easy when you are agency and can be sent on any run or even a different run every day